ZK/SEC Research notes from zkSecurity
All posts
educative · security · zk

Auditing Self: Collaborating with Celo on Privacy and Identity Infrastructure

self

Earlier this year, we had the chance to work with Celo on a security audit of the Self project, a new approach to on-chain identity built around biometric passports and zero-knowledge proofs.

Over the course of three weeks, we reviewed core components of the protocol: cryptographic primitives (including ECDSA and RSA implementations in Circom), key circuits and smart contracts, and a TEE-based proof delegation system built on AWS Nitro Enclaves.

Working with the Celo team was a great experience. They were responsive, transparent, and genuinely committed to building something robust. The Self system covers a lot of ground, from passport parsing to enclave attestation to smart contract architecture, and we appreciated the level of care and context they brought to each part of the discussion.

As with any complex system, we found areas for improvement. But more importantly, the team was quick to address critical issues, and open to strategic recommendations that went beyond simple fixes.

We look forward to seeing how Self evolves, and we’d be glad to collaborate again in the future.

You can read the full report here.

Keep reading
Latest

The Year Finding and Exploiting Bugs Became Cheap, and What to Do About It

The economics of security have changed. AI has made finding and exploiting bugs cheaper, including in cryptographic and zero-knowledge code, while validation and remediation remain slow. Here is our view of what happened, what comes next, and how teams should change the way they secure their stack to defend against AI-assisted attackers.

Stefanos Chaliasos · September 07, 2026

Variants of KZG: Part V, Multilinear Commitments with Mercury

In this final post of the series, we extend univariate KZG commitments to multilinear polynomials through Mercury. Building on Gemini, we fold half of the variables at once, use polynomial division to bind this large fold to the original commitment and reduce the remaining multilinear evaluations to a batched inner product check. We then walk through the end-to-end opening protocol. We conclude by examining its proof size, prover cost and verifier cost.

Varun Thakore · August 17, 2026

Variants of KZG: Part IV, Multilinear Commitments with Gemini

In this blog post, we extend univariate KZG commitments to multilinear polynomials through Gemini. We introduce recursive partial evaluations, derive the split-and-fold identity and express each fold as a univariate identity that can be checked using KZG openings. We then walk through the end-to-end opening protocol. We conclude by examining its proof size, prover cost, and verifier cost.

Varun Thakore · August 12, 2026
Recommended

Bug Hunt: Zero-Knowledge, Full-Paranoia, and the AI That Stares Back

Over the past year, we've been diving into whether AI can effectively identify bugs in zero-knowledge circuits and applications, sparking questions about the future of auditing. This led us to develop SnarkSentinel, an AI-powered auditing tool. We'll share what worked, what didn’t, and how our journey with AI could impact auditing. From early challenges with Circom to innovative methods like retrieval-augmented generation and agent-led probing, we'll give you a peek into our findings, including both successes and setbacks with bug detection. Discover how AI might enhance or change the landscape of auditing and what this means for developers and security pros alike.

ZK/SEC · July 03, 2025

Uncovering the Phantom Challenge Soundness Bug in Solana's ZK ElGamal Proof Program

In June 2025, we uncovered a serious soundness issue in Solana's ZK ElGamal Proof Program that could let attackers manipulate confidential token transfers undetected. We worked with the Anza team to quickly address the flaw by pausing and disabling vulnerable components. This post dives into the root cause, which was a subtle mistake in handling prover-generated challenges within sigma OR proofs, revealing broader lessons in zero-knowledge protocol security. If you're interested in cryptographic protocol design, this could provide valuable insights.

Suneal Gong · June 26, 2025

Verifying Cairo proofs on Ethereum

We've been teaming up with StarkWare to create the EVM adapter, and we're thrilled to say that we've recently verified Cairo proofs on the Ethereum mainnet! Building on the work of Andrew Milson and Aditya Bisht, we're making StarkWare’s technology more accessible to everyone. Our blog dives into how Cairo programs are verified on Ethereum and showcases our new library, `stark-evm-adapter`, which helps parse Cairo proofs for Ethereum. Interested in seeing how it works? Check out our demo and learn how to integrate this tech into your system. Plus, stay tuned for future updates as we refine and expand this exciting tool!

Jason Park · August 06, 2024
More to explore

Public report of Sui's zkLogin audit

We just finished an audit of the Sui Foundation's zkLogin application and we're sharing what we found: the code is well-documented, tested, and specified. The zkLogin is set to make user authentication on the blockchain secure but simple, replacing cryptographic keys with familiar SSO methods like Google or Facebook while preserving user privacy. We also dive into the technical details behind JWT verification, non-native arithmetic for RSA, and vector programming. Plus, learn about the trusted setup process for zkLogin, ensuring maximum security through a decentralized multi-party ceremony. If you're curious about the intricate mechanics behind zkLogin, this is a must-read.

ZK/SEC · November 07, 2023

Playing with LaBRADOR: Building Compact Lattice-based Proofs with Recursion

In this post, we explore LaBRADOR, a transparent, lattice-based proof system that achieves sublinear proof sizes through recursion. Built on the Module-SIS assumption, LaBRADOR lets a prover efficiently demonstrate knowledge of short vectors satisfying dot product constraints, general enough to express R1CS. The protocol’s key ideas include amortized openings, outer commitments, and a strategy to shrink the witness after each round of recursion. Together, these techniques make LaBRADOR a powerful, scalable framework for post-quantum zero-knowledge proofs.

Georgios Raikos · November 13, 2025

ZPrize Came To An End! Who And How Did They Win $500,000?

In an exciting collaboration with ZPrize, we embarked on a journey to discover the fastest proofs for ECDSA signatures, ultimately crowning two standout approaches as winners. The blog post delves into the innovative solutions that captured the $500,000 prize by pushing the boundaries of zero-knowledge proofs. The story offers a fascinating glimpse into how these cutting-edge techniques might pave the way for privacy-focused applications. Curious to know which teams came out on top and how they did it? Dive in to explore the thrilling results and what's next in the ZK space!

ZK/SEC · May 06, 2024